Rangers' fitness blasted despite win

BC Rangers players were slammed by their management despite a 2-1 win over home team Sun Pegasus in the RedMR First Division yesterday.

Thanks to two goals by Croatian midfielder Miroslav Saric midway through the first half and some acrobatic saves by goalkeeper Leung Hing-kit at Yuen Long Stadium, Rangers made it two wins out of two in the new season. Pegasus striker Jaimes McKee scored in the first half stoppage to close the gap, but could not help his side go further after missing a number of chances.

"It's a shame that we won the match with most of the players running out stamina with more than 20 minutes left, just waiting for the final whistle," said club boss Mok Yiu-keung. "We are a professional team, but the players' physical fitness could hardly match the name. Had our goalkeeper not repeatedly denied them, we could have never brought home the victory.

"We have set aside an HK$8 million budget and we don't want to finish the season empty-handed," he added. "I am very confident, as we have the quality after bringing in some good overseas players like the goal scorer of today and we just need to improve the players' fitness."

Pegasus coach Chan Ho-yin admitted they had missed many chances during the match, but they also needed to attend to their defence problems.

"We conceded the two goals when we had more defenders around than their attacking players. It means there are defects in our defence," said the coach. "But there is no panic. We are a relatively new side this season and given more time to allow the newcomers blend in, we should get better."

Elsewhere, Tuen Mun opened their account with a 3-0 win over a 10-man Southern.

South China take on Sunray Cave Sun Hei at Mong Kok Stadium today while WoFoo Tai Po will host Yokohama FC (HK).